significant reform, and we have been able to do this because we have already been determined. have worked together, on both guest: the president did a smart sides of the aisle, working with the leadership of the committee. thing. 30 reforms that people can count he said we will let two other factors weigh in. on for fairness in the process for the accused but also help to the insurance companies will have to make that decision. those who feel that they have the commissioners will have to been victimized but to be sure weigh if a problem exists. that they are not victimized by the very system that they count wethe extent that it does, on. mr. president, i yield the floor and eagerly look forward to are not going to change it. hearing from my senior host: some have rejected the republican colleague, senator idea. guest: i am not surprised. collins. ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. there is uncertainty about what ms. collins: thank you, the mix will be and the balance mr. president. first, i want to commend the of the actuarial cac relations senior senator from maryland, the dean of the women senators, for organizing this debate today required to meet the premium expectations. host: here is troy from st. on an issue that concerns each of us, and that is the growing paul, minnesota. caller: i went on the minnesota prices of sexual assault in the site.

military. i found it to be pretty easy to mr. president, i first raised my get on. concern over the military's my wife is a school teacher. we figured out we can save about inadequate response to the growing crisis of sexual assault $800 a month by going off her nearly ten years ago. coverage from her schoolteacher i remember it well. plan. this care it was a hearing before the senate armed services committee i had to look at it five times. in 2004 at which i expressed my then i called up the people on the phone, on the policy. growing alarm about the number they said all i have to do is of sexual assaults in the call them back and i could sign military and the inadequate up. response by the leaders of the i am not asking for a tax break. military to provide adequate care for the survivors and to if there wasn't this care plan ensure appropriate punishment and if they didn't get it rammed for the perpetrators of these hrough, we would not be reprehensible crimes. in an exchange that i had with general george casey, i stated having this discussion. it would just keep rambling on. the military needs to be much

more responsive to reports of everybody would be paying over. host: you have a policy in place sexual assault, particularly in already? the field, and to separate these caller: we pay $6,000 a month women and in some cases the male victims from their alleged for my wife, myself, my daughter attackers. -- we apy $1600. the department must also almost $1000 out of her vigorously prosecute offenders and hold commanders accountable pocket. for establishing zero tolerance the school district pays $600. policies. mr. president, to say that general casey's response was i cannot even find a policy that costs that much. disappointing would be an i had to look at it five times. understatement. i am convinced that if the i could not believe it. y.st: thanks, tro military had heeded the concerns that i and others like senator guest: one of my closest friends mikulski raised back then a called yesterday that his son decade ago, this terrible signed up in the last couple of days and saved over $600 a month problem would have been addressed much sooner, saving from what he was paying before. many individuals from the you will see a lot more of that trauma, the pain, and the

going forward. as people that are understand, injustice that they endured. back then, sadly, the attitude they're going to save a lot of money. of the high-ranking officials that is going to make this a lot more popular. who were testifying at that 2004 the glitches will be history, hearing was dismissive even someday. vaughn froms though these crimes never should have occurred in the first place, traumatized the survivor alabama. good morning. and erode the trust and caller: the way of the language discipline that are fundamental gets confusing around here. to every military unit. we have the best health care -- thankfully the attitude i health care --in the world. perceive amongst senior military the world seems to think we have officers today is markedly the best health care here. different from the one that i all we are talking about is how encountered nine years ago. to pay for it. the work of translating the if we had jobs, we would go back military's stated policy of zero to what it used to be years and years ago out of our pockets. tolerance into reality, however, now we have insurance in remains unfinished business. between. people handling insurance will fostering a culture of zero to cans so that the number of -- of

be relying on the government or zero tolerance so that the it is going to be the government. number of assaults is greatly the insurance policy is a piece of paper. diminished remains a goal, not reality. health care is what you get when and ensuring that survivors do they save your life and put you not think twice about reporting back together again. an assault for fear of guest: the caller is definitely retaliation or damage to their careers is still not part of the military culture. right that there is a difference between health care and health in 2011, i joined our former insurance. i would emphatically argue we are by far from having the best colleague john kerry in coauthoring the defense strong health care system in the world. if you look at any rankings. act as an initial step to the world health organization, address this crisis. we don't even rank in the top provisions of that bill were 20. signed into law as part of the on just about every performance criteria we fault our short fiscal year 2012 national anywhere near the best. defense authorization act. -- we fall far short anywhere they provide survivors of sexual near the best. we have a huge responsibility to assault the assistance of destroy the myths about where we stand in regard to health. advocates with genuine a life expectancy in this country is actually going down. confidentiality. they provide guaranteed access we have some of the best to an attorney and expedited technology in the world. we have some of the finest

institutions in the world. consideration to be transferred unfortunately not everyone gets far away from their assailant. into the mayo clinic or cleveland clinic or johns earlier this year i introduced the coast guard strong act to hopkins. because they don't, the rest of extend these protections to us have to deal with health skip -- health care that is not the coast guard members, and i thank quality that one gets at one of chairman levin and ranking the finest institutions in the member inhofe and senator world. therein lies the distinction. do we have some of the finest mccaskill for their work to include these provisions in this institutions? absolutely. do we have the finest health care? year's ndaa. not even close. we have to make that distinction more than anything, survivors need to have the confidence that and make sure that as we look at the legal system in which they how to address the challenges we face, we've got the facts. report a crime will produce a and those are the facts. just and fair result. the problem is, even though we based upon data from the don't even come close to being department of defense's most the best health care in the world as a nation, we pay more than the next 10 countries recent sexual assault prevention combined, more than the gdp of and response survey, that view india or brazil or russia. is not held by enough service just for health care alone. members or survivors. as a result, i've supported and so, we are paying more than anyone else and we are not getting the result of a lot of other countries. introduced legislation with at is what this whole fight is about. senators gillibrand and host: a viewer off of twitter -- mccaskill aimed at reducing

the barriers to justice that many survivors of sexual assault states leave it to the to administer and decide? guest: that is what we have had currently face in the military. for 200 years. and i want to commend both the state administered and decided on the problems have gotten worse. senator gillibrand and senator we have about 50 million people mccaskill for their uninsured. quality is going down, not up. life expectancy is going down. extraordinary leadership and dedication to resolving this what we decided in this country -- has always been a debate unacceptable problem. about government, whether let me also thank chairman levin government or the private sector should do it. back in 1915 only about 15% and ranking member inhofe for incorporating significant provisions from both bills into health care was related for government and that was the ndaa. primarily for veterans. it was expanded to the point in fact, there are more than 26 where in the 1960's where we added medicare and medicaid, we provisions specifically expanded the role of government. in 2011 for the first time there targeting sexual assault in the was more government insurance and private insurance. military in the bill that we are 50 today. about 50- debating today. the real question is what should for example -- and there are the role of government be going forward. we decided we should expand the many but i want to highlight one role and medicaid of those cases because it was part of a bill where people just don't have the that senator mccaskill and i resources to buy health

insurance and we created new introduced -- the legislation mandates a dishonorable private marketplaces with private insurance for people to discharge or dismissal for any choose on the marketplace in those cases were medicaid is not necessary. that is the balance that the service member convicted of sexual assault. american people have interesting this came from a bipartisan towards for some time. interestingly, the president bicameral bill, the be safe act chose to use one of the most that i introduced with senator conservative think tank approaches, heritage foundation, to create the model in the first place and i think that balance mccaskill, congresswoman nikki is something that we will continue to try to resolve as we go forward. tsongas and congressman mike host: "the washington post" turner earlier this year. highlights the recent poll there are many other important looking at the president's popularity. 42% is where it stands. provisions that are included in this bill, and i ask unanimous what does it mean for an agenda consent that my full statement going forward? listing those provisions be included in the record. guest: the polls are going to rise and fall. the presiding officer: without you look at all of the objection. ms. collins: our work will not president's predecessors, and be complete, however, until the they have had strong moments and moments where people have been pentagon has demonstrated that concerned. it is fully enforcing its stated obviously with the controversies involving health and involving policy of zero tolerance for the government shutdown and a number of things that have been isng on in washington, 42% sexual assault. now there are strong views if -n

probably 35% better than where the pentagon and in congress on congress is today. it is all relative. how best to address this issue the question is, how can we improve the perception and beyond the 26 provisions in the confidence of the american people in the government in washington today. the question -- the answer is, bill before us. there is much debate on what it means for the military's unique we have to find more ways to legal system. work together. one of the criticisms that i a partisan bickering and have heard is that we should the polarization and the tofrontation that continues wait a few more months for the results of still more studies or be part of the rhetoric and get perhaps even wait a few more back to working in governing like the american people expect years to see if recently enacted third host: you mention part of provisions have made a the bickering, your former career in the senate. a picture on the front page of difference. mr. president, i strongly "the new york times" talking disagree. about a third nominee for a how many more victims are judgeship and blocked by republicans in the senate. required to suffer before we talking about filibuster and the process. take additional action? how many more lives must be give us your insight of what is going on, the idea of a ruined before we act? filibuster, and your experience in the senate. rather than waiting for the guest: i think filibusters have results of yet more studies, we been used to frequently on both sides of the isle, frankly. must debate proposals to i have been involved in filibusters when i was majority increase the confidence of leader and minority leader, and survivors and increase

frankly, i look back with some prevention efforts now until we regret that we didn't do a have proved that the military better job of resolving our differences back then. has indeed fostered a culture of but whatever level of filibusters i experienced, it zero tolerance in which can't compare at all to what has survivors are no longer been experienced in the last two years. concerned about retaliation from had oneohnson their peers or even their filibuster during the six years commanders. he was majority leader, 1954-19 and that is why i've decided to support senator gillibrand's 60. harry reid in eight years has amendment to this bill. had something like 400 this was not an easy decision, filibusters. the dramatic upswing in the as there are valid arguments on number of filibusters of both on both sides. nominations and legislation has but senator gillibrand's just exploded in the last few amendment takes aim squarely at years. to a lotled, i think, of dysfunction and a lot of the the problem of victims failing anger and frustration that you see today among the american people. to report sexual assaults. host: how do you change that? in my judgment, her amendment i wouldirst of all, will encourage more victims to report sexual assaults. like to see us go back to the old way of addressing filibusters, where you didn't and that is absolutely critical. dual and triple track. there can be no question, that is, set the nomination

mr. president, about the aside and pick up something senate's commitment to reducing else. i would require everyone who the instances of sexual assault filibusters hold the floor for whatever length of time it took in the military and to providing to get cloture. appropriate care for survivors. that is the way we did it in the past. i think i had a very as we debate various proposals, consequential effect on limiting the number of filibusters as we we are united by the need for went forward. i would also eliminate the the serious reforms that are practice of what we commonly memberght hold where any included already in this bill of congress will say i will and that will enhance the filibuster if you bring this bill or nomination on the floor. military's response to sexual to be aas turned out assault. one-person veto. and i want to thank all of those on the armed services committee, government cannot work with one person vetoes in the country particularly the two leaders, today. and senator mccaskill and you can't run a government when you can get the people into the senator gillibrand for their positions of responsibility for which they were nominated. excellent work. you can't run a government if i am certain that our work on you continue to see the the ndaa will make a real immigration bill languished for as long as it has or any one of difference in reducing a number of pieces of legislation that demand unnecessary suffering, injury, consideration today. and injustice. this country deserves better thank you, mr. president. than that and i think we've got to look at ways in which procedure can address these issues more effectively going

ms. ayotte: mr. president? forward. host: our guest, former senate democratic leader from 1995-2005 the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. , tom daschle. ms. ayotte: i thank you, mr. president. martin from wisconsin. i want to thank my colleagues, independent line. senator collins, senator caller: good morning, think -- mikulski for their leadership on this issue and for bringing this important discussion to the c-span3 hi, tom, how are you? floor today. i also want to thank senator two comments in one question. murkowski, who i see in the chamber as well, who has been a and you educate us a little more leader, as well as senator mccaskill, who is a member of about the money flow within the aca. somebody get a subsidy, the the armed services committee with me. insurance company paying the fed this has been an issue that has brought people together, and it -- how does the actual money has brought people together for flow question mark somebody pays the right reasons. the insurance company. the second thing is the point an issue that the women of the you mentioned about bipartisanship -- good grief, senate have really, i think, harry reid will not take any driven but it's important to bills to the floor. can you give them a call to get understand that this is not a things moving? thanks. works the way the subsidy woman's issue. the issue of ending sexual assaults in our military is an is you are entitled, based on issue for everyone. this is an issue about justice. your income, as he signed up for this is an issue about fairness. a given plan, there is a calculation and that is one of this is about making sure that the areas where we had probably

technicalst degree of victims of crimes, both men and difficulty in determining what women get the justice that they that subsidy might be for any deserve, get the support that income.an given one's they deserve in our military and that they understand and that is automatically tabulated appreciate that we want them to and the premium you pay to the have a climate in the military insurance company is reduced by where if they are a victim, they that degree, and the difference can come forward and get the is made up by the subsidy support that they need and that itself. legislation,o the they deserve. and finally, this is also about the character of our military. we are blessed to have the very best military in the world, but i was say i think you've got a i think- i would say when there is a plague of sexual assaults like we have seen in you've got a lot of in assigning our military, it undermines the blame to senator reid when he very fabric of our military in has had so much difficulty terms of our readiness, in terms moving his agenda forward. of our preparedness, in terms of he and i have talked about this on many occasion. the cohesiveness of our units. the problem he's got, of course, as majority leader is a limited and that's why it's not only number of days in which to deal important that we address and support the victims of these with all the legislative responsibilities. crimes, that we end sexual i frankly don't think we spend enough time in washington today. assault in our military, but the country needs to do better that we have a climate in our military that says if you are a

leaving on thursdays and coming back on tuesdays, the way the commander and you do not stop current schedule is worked. sexual assaults, prevent sexual assaults, have a climate in your we can't govern effectively if we only try to do it about a day unit that says zero tolerance, and a half or two days a week. we've got to spend more time this is not going to happen, and if a victim comes forward in here addressing the challenges, and when we do we can take on your unit that you don't handle more of a legislative schedule. this the right way and do the right thing and support victims house-senate budget and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable, you will be conferees, coming up with a deadline of december 15 to come relieved from command. up with results as far as and that is the climate in which spending issues. all of the reforms in the what do you make of the comp -- defense authorization are process of what you think the brought forward, where we work outcome will be? together across the aisle with guest: i was very hopeful. provisions that are very strong it was something as part of the to support victims. one of those is a special resolution of bringing an end to the debt limit them of the shutdown, to a close. victims council. i think it is essential that we and senator patty murray and i introduced a bill stand-alone to redouble the efforts. i worry, for when i am hearing, ensure based on a pilot in the about reports that not a lot of air force, a pilot program in progress has been made so far. the air force that victims of you got the thanksgiving break sexual assault will now actually have their own lawyer, someone coming up. again, to my point about how to represent them and their much time is actually spent in washington. interests, to know if they come

it isreally think forward there is someone looking out for them. and that's one of the provisions essential to prove that we can govern, that we can take contained in this defense something as fundamental as our authorization bill to ensure budget and find some resolution that every victim will have here. there's got to be give on both someone who stands for them. in addition to that, sides that there really have to retaliation, we've now made be determination on the part of the leadership that we aren't retaliation against victims a going to fail. crime under the uniform cowed of we will stay here for whatever length of time it takes to get the job done. -- ne of the issues military justice -- uniform code of military justice, to say to host: one of the issues of victims that if you come forward taxation. guest: that is correct. there is no way you can address and for some reason you're the enormity of the problem without having some revenue on retaliated against, then whoever does that will be guilty of a the table. it can't be done. we are about 17% gdp on revenue crime. sending the message that, please and 22% on spending. come forward, we want to support you. and we want to ensure that the we've got to bring gdp on spending down and revenue up. perpetrators are held we got to find some happy accountable. now in addition, i believe that medium, some common ground in if we want to solve this the middle. when that happens -- just as we have done every single problem, the provisions in this successful -- i cannot find it bill that people have worked together on are very, very strong. tempting history where both i want to thank the chairman of revenue and spending were not the armed services committee and both considered as we resolved the ranking member for their these issues in the past. of course they are difficult, work together. we are going to pass in this

but that is the only way we will get the job done. host: what do you look to on spending? chamber unprecedented reforms guest: entitlements, there is a that ensure that the military lot we can do. what i hope we do on understands this is not an issue entitlements -- frankly, not what we have done and what i did anymore that can be left in the closet. this is not an issue that can be in the past is simply to cut the programs and shift the cost onto quietly spoken of where victims feel that they can't come somebody else -- whether the beneficiary or the state with forward. the private sector. what we've got to do is redesign that the reforms in this bill and improve these entitlements. are very tough, they support there are a lot of ways we can make sure we do more with less. victims, they hold commanders accountable, and they make sure suggestions made that we do not see what we have by a lot of very reputable seen in the past, things like organizations, there is no reason why we have to cut and shift the way would've been in commanders overturning the verdicts. the past. host: bonnie from parsons, that will be done under this kansas. bill, and that is not allowed republican line. caller: good morning. anymore if this bill passes on the floor. so i simply come to the floor good morning, senator daschle. today to say there's so much i have not seen you in such a long time. nice to see that you look so that we have agreed upon that is well. guest: thank you very much. that is kind. going to address this issue in veryr:i want to tell you a the military. and for all of my colleagues that are on the floor today, i thank them for their leadership. funny story but i will be very but we will not let this rest. brief about it so i will probably leave out a lot.

hospital that i needed the one thing i do know is that to go to, i had no way of making certainly those of us that serve on the armed services committee and those who are here who don't transportation to serve on the armed services committee but serve on other very important committees in the chamber, including the appropriations committee, that the hospital through their bus, despite the unprecedented so i had to call public reforms that i believe we're going to pass on a bipartisan basis to end sexual assault in transportation. they said you needed to make a two-day advance deal so that i the military and ensure that victims are supported, we're not going to let this go. could get there. this is not going to be something where we pass these had a call -- i reforms and that's the end of the story. every few months, we're going to be asking what have you done to implement these reforms? from independence, kansas, about every few months, we're going to be expecting a report back to 40 miles from me, and it was a the united states senate to limo company and they were ensure that what we have all willing to come and get me and take me to the hospital because intended to occur here that is my car has to be worked on right the right thing for victims of now. crime, that is the right thing [laughter] terrible spider for our military is getting done. so while i am very proud of everything that we have done and we will do when we pass the

bite. nobody can figure that one out. but that is beside the point. just so funny that i end up with defense authorization on a bipartisan basis to stand a limo going to the hospital against sexual assault in our military, this is not the end of the story, and we will continue --ause they don't have it to pursue this, to make sure that our military understands that they are accountable, that they have not worked out these little things like victims of crime understand in transportation. host: bonnie, thank you. the military that they will be state i come from a rural supported, and that we will not let this go. and so i thank you, like she does. mr. president. south dakota. wife and her i want to thank my colleagues for their leadership and everything that they have done childhood years in scott's city to support victims of crime and and saint francis, kansas. we still have relatives there. to end sexual assault in our but she is exactly right. military. a senator: mr. president? one of the real difficulties we have had with good health care the presiding officer: the senator from washington. delivery is transportation. people who live 100 miles from a good facility. ms. cantwell: i rise to join my that is why tele health will colleagues. i join many of my colleagues, the senator from maine, the senator from new hampshire, our become more important to address leader, the senator from the challenge of distance and to maryland, in making sure the voices of women are heard in find alternative ways to give the better care. but we can do a better job. this debate. we know that in may, 2013, the

it shouldn't require a limo from independence to get to the defense department released a hospital. report that showed 26,000 we have to fix that, too. incidents of unwanted sexual host: slover spring, maryland. independent line. contact among service members. caller: hi, mr. daschle. that's an increase of 35% over thanks for all the great work. of my question. two years. washingtonians in my state are very proud of the incredible men with all the debate and back- and women who keep our country and-forth, i don't understand, safe and defend us, and we are what is the real agenda or arevation behind folks that proud of the ten military installations across our state. there are more than 65,000 men politically opposed to this and women serving in the state better coverage for people. a quick example -- i went to the of washington military er about a year ago and it turned out to be a fairly minor installations, bases like joint was a weekend and base louis mccord, the everett navy station, bangor submarine nobody was open and it was the only place i could get there in a hurry, and the bill was like $2000. i called the billing office, and base, fairchild air force base. they said people with insurance so we take it seriously when like you are effectively there were 116 reports of sexual covering four or five other people who come in with no insurance or very little money. assaults across all of these

installations in the state of the whole idea of getting everyone to get coverage was a washington in 2010. that number is too high. republican idea at one point, something they were promoting. and that is the only amount that that is not the only aspect of is being reported. the bill. i understand the glitches that we know that there may be many assaults that are unreported. occurred on the website and the loss of insurance by some people as my colleagues are saying, we have given ammunition, but is it need to do everything we can to just that the old system was really just too profitable? address this problem. i don't see any alternative i am pleased that joint base being proffered by the republicans. i have the old system is just to lewis mccord is developing a profitable, is that it? sexual assault prevention program and i urge my colleagues in the senate to act to address -- is it just the old system is profitable? this epidemic problem. the men and women of our armed forces are basically defending our country, and so why are we guest: my own view is at its core the debate is about the leaving them unprotected while role of government going forward. what should the role of government be as we consider they serve? health care? in theid earlier i have cosponsored legislation authored by my colleague, the program, i think what the senior senator from washington, american people have come to to provide special victim counsel to victims of sexual appreciate is that we probably need government and we need the private sector, and we need to assault, and this will ensure that professionals trained in find ways to integrate both dealing with sexual assault are

government and private sector involvement more effectively there to support the victims. going forward. your point about uncompensated there may be differing opinions on how best to achieve the care is absolutely right. overall goals of reducing sexual we have mandates today. people who say they are opposed to a mandate -- we have a assault in the military, but i believe that all my colleagues can agree on one common goal -- mandate now called uncompensated care. all the care that is provided to protecting the victims from people who have no ability to pay is being passed on to businesses and individuals in further abuse. we need to put an end to an higher premiums and higher environment that allows sexual hospital and doctor costs because that is the only way the assault to occur and let the facilities and the providers can perpetrators go unpunished and accommodate this uncompensated care. discourage victims of sexual it is passed onto somebody else. assault through fear and and we pay the difference. intimidation. again, we may differ on how to that is probably the least best achieve that goal, but we efficient way to pay for those who don't have insurance today, are all here to say the same and that is why, again, as the thing -- enough is enough. caller correctly points out, a we will not tolerate the sexual lot of republicans over the years as well as democrats have assaults in the military and called for people taking more armed forces, and we owe it to responsibility for themselves, regardless of what context we our service members to come are talking -- health care, together and act toward a solution today. response, tax that's why my colleagues are abilities. we all have responsibilities as here, to emphasize this point in

a way that speaks volumes about american citizens. what the affordable care act attempts to do is to say, look, we will give you the right to ehealth -- health care but we how this tragedy is affecting men and women in the armed services and the fact that this also want you to take some of institution needs to come the responsibility for yourself. together to address it. not only financial i thank the president and i responsibility but we want you yield the floor. to better understand that your own need for taking better care of your own personal health -- if you have obesity issues, we've got to work with you to make obesity more of a priority. ms. murkowski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the if you have other issues, we've senator from alaska. got to make sure that you got ms. murkowski: i ask unanimous consent that major kelsey the access to resources and williams, a u.s. army officer facilities to deal with those who is serving as a military challenges so you can take more fellow in my office, be granted personal responsibility. floor privileges for the that is what this is all about. remainder of the session of the days?what do you do these 113th congress. the presiding officer: without objection. guest: at the good fortune to ms. murkowski: i want to thank work with a terrific law firm ,rimarily on health care issues the senator from maryland, the dean of the women in the senate, and the senator from maine who have organized this portion of hopefully good, strategic the debate this morning. advice. i work with a couple of think i want to acknowledge and thank tanks, the bipartisan policy the other women of the senate center and the center for who are coming here this morning american progress. i serve on a few boards, i do some public speaking and enjoy to speak on an issue that we it all. host: are you a lobbyist? would all agree is something that must be addressed that for

guest: i did not register -- i far too long has not seen the don't lobby and i have never been on the hill lobbying for the affordable care act or redress that it commands. anything else. host: you wrote a book "critical and so we stand together unified -- what we can do about the health-care crisis." in an effort to truly make a if i understand it correctly, difference. some kind of federal -- i want to acknowledge the good work, particularly, of senators establish? guest: what i described in the first book was laid out as it mccaskill and senators occurred in the legislation -- gillibrand who have really worked to raise the awareness of in the second book called the issue, who have truly "getting it done." advanced the discussion to the point where i believe that for the first time in far too long, i long felt that a lot of these decisions today are really becoming too politicized, as we we will make substantive, see with the health-care system. meaningful headway when it comes just as we saw with monetary to -- to addressing sexual policy when it became too politicized in the early part of the 20th century, congress very assault, sexual harassment and wisely decided to take it out of what has been called or referred to as military sexual trauma. politics into have a federal reserve board make monetary policy today. working together, i think we do as audiences what have that impetus, that push to you think would happen today if truly address in a meaningful congress was in charge of way these areas. monetary policy, raising and mr. president, when the senate

lowering interest rates, passes the national defense deciding what the supply of authorization act for 2014, i resources would be in our think it will be evident to all monetary context question mark i think we all know the answer. that we have sent a very strong but that is basically what has message on these issues, a very happened to health. because it is so complicated because it has become so united message, clearly politicized, my view is that we need an independent board to bipartisan. make a lot of the decisions that i think it's clear to all who have been following the debates, are obviously still subject to first in the armed services congressional approval and oversight, that that would de- committee and now here on the floor, that there are politicize it and put more differences of opinion within managers in charge of a lot of this body about how we address the decisions going forward. the crisis, how to create a one day we will have that kind of the system, in my view. culture that prevents the kinds i think it is necessary. of incidents that we are talking about from ever occurring, how i would argue that we really don't have a health system today. if you define a system as having we work to protect the rights of a central decision-making or victims, how to ensure that administrative authority, we don't have it. justice and accountability are we have a market made up of a achieved in an open and a collage of subsystems that are public and private and they are transparent fashion so that not well integrated. we need a better way to better victims know that there is a integrate public and private engagement in health. system that works for them, so will i guess the question that our constituents know that, so that we here in congress have be about oversight, if you give power to one port to make these that confidence again, because decisions. right now that confidence does

guest: obviously, just as we not exist. have done with base closing and we recognize that there remain even with monetary policy, the congress can challenge the fed differences across the body in and can do things that can how -- how to achieve the influence the direction of monetary policy regardless of whether it is tax or budget. elimination of sexual assault, i think the same thing can be done in health care to there sexual harassment and military will always be an opportunity -- sexual trauma i believe, and i would argue, a necessity mr. president, that the amendment that is offered by our for a congressional role. but the day-to-day management of colleague from new york, senator the health-care system, now about 18% of gdp and going up, gillibrand, is the best medicine for a difficult situation that it really has to be addressed in has been allowed to languish for a more professional organizer far too long. this afternoon, i intend to and former successful way. host: tom daschle served in the spend a little more time explaining why i think senator senate, democrat from south gillibrand's amendment, while it is strong medicine and it is disruptive of the status quo, why i believe that it is the right way to go. but my purpose this morning in joining with -- with my female colleagues here in the senate is not to argue for or against one amendment or another. it's to point out that the ndaa, as reported by the armed

services committee, includes many provisions, so many provisions agreeable to all that truly have a positive impact going forward. i'd also like to point out that during the course of our debate on the ndaa, the senate will consider some other amendments which enjoy broad support. my colleague, the senator from california, senator boxer, spoke very eloquently just last night about her amendment that will protect victims' rights in article 32 proceedings. this amendment has drawn good, strong support from those who support senator gillibrand's approach as well as those who oppose it. i am proud to cosponsor senator boxer's amendment. i think it's good legislation, and i hope that we can come together to adopt it. i have submitted amendment 2141. this ensures cadets and midshipmen at our nation's service academies have access to special victims' counsel and

assault nurse exercise. another one of my amendments 2133 requires reports from the heads of our service academies on the services available to victims of military sexual trauma. i hope -- i would certainly hope that these noncontroversial amendments can be offered and accepted at the appropriate time. i think all of these ideas -- those mentioned by my colleague from new hampshire, those that have been addressed by my colleague from maine and others, these will all help to make a difference, but i think we recognize that this is just the beginning of solving the problem. the congress of the united states can encourage good behavior, and we can sanction bad behavior, but what we cannot do is we cannot legislate good culture. over the next few days, we're going to hear a good many words about the importance of the chain of command in maintaining good culture, and some will argue that our efforts to ensure that bad behavior is sanctioned

will cause the chain of command to abandon this responsibility. i don't accept this proposition. regardless of how we dispose of senator gillibrand's amendment, senator mccaskill's amendment, it is the responsibility of the chain of command to provide for good order and discipline and sound military culture, always. this is a nondelegateable duty of those who accept positions of leadership and responsibility within our armed forces. those who wear the uniform reflect the values of this country and every action that they take must uphold those values. sometimes, though, i wonder, you have to wonder does the chain of command get it? and to illustrate a point, i can't to share a sad story. this is a story that senator gillibrand and i shared.

the soldier's name was danny chin. he grew up in new york city's chinatown. he joined the army and he was assigned to fort wainwright in fairbanks, alaska. from there, he was deployed to afghanistan. nine months after his deployment, he was found dead in afghanistan of what the army described as -- quote -- "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound." "new york magazine" describes his experience in afghanistan this way -- a group of his superiors allegedly tormented chin on an almost daily basis over the course of about six weeks in afghanistan last fall. they singled him out. he was their only chinese american soldier. they spit racial slurs at him. they forced him to do sprints while carrying a sandbag. they ordered him to crawl along gravel-covered ground while they flunk rocks at him. one day when his unit was

assembling a tent. he was forced to wear a hardhat and shout out instructions to his fellow soldiers in chinese. danny chin's story is not about sexual assault or sexual harassment, but it is about harassment. it's about the kind of extreme behavior that has no place, absolutely no place in the armed forces of this world's greatest democracy. just like sexual assault, just like sexual harassment and military sexual trauma have no place in the armed forces of the world's greatest democracy. this week, mr. president, we have the opportunity to send a strong statement to the chain of command that they need to clean up the culture. never again should we have to speak of a culture that allows harassment, assault and trauma generated from within to fester within our military.

so i join with my colleagues this morning in unity for the victims and for a change, a change that will realign the reality that our service members seem to face in the armed forces with the values of the greatest democracy on earth. i thank the president and my colleagues, and i yield the floor. ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i rise today to speak on the national defense authorization act and how the senate and particularly the women of the senate are working to address the crisis of military sexual assault. i'd like to thank senator mikulski and senator collins for organizing and bringing us together this morning. i'd like to thank senator levin and inhofe for their leadership, and i'd like to thank senator

mccaskill and senator gillibrand for working on this critical legislation over the course of the past year. and of course, i'd like to thank all of the women of the senate, you have heard from many of them this morning and we will hear from more because this is an incredible year, a year that i hope will be remembered as a decisive one in the effort to eradicate military sexual assault once and for all. we are all too well aware that sexual assault continues to plague our armed forces. we have all seen the horrifying numbers. in 2012, the department of defense received 3,374 reports of sexual assaults in the military. but by the d.o.d.'s own estimates, 26,000 -- 26 26,000inessents -- of sexual assault actually took place during that per. that means that only 29%, a small fraction of all incidences, were actually

reported. and even of the 3,374 reported offenses in 2012, only 880 faced command action for sex crimes. of those 880, 594 faced court-martial and 302 of those court-martials resulted in convictions. so all in all, we have a situation in which 880 people faced any kind of discipline for a sex crime out of the universe of 26,000 potential incidents. that's only 3.4% of total incidents in which someone was held accountable and only 302, or 1.1%, were actually convicted of a crime. that is not a good set of numbers, mr. president, and it sums up why this problem has been fest experg why we need action this year. but i think we also know that we're not all here because of the statistics. we're here because of real people. because each and every one of the numbers is a personal story of grief and we know them all

too well. whether it was a sexual assault scandal last year at lackland air force base in texas where a dozen or more basic training instructors were accused of sexually assaulting female trainees, or the more reason case at the air base in italy where an air force general decided to reinstate a pilot without explanation, despite the fact that this pilot had been convicted of sexual assault charges in a court-martial by a jury of his peers. i think of kimberly wellnick from mora, minnesota, someone maybe not everyone has heard of. she served with the marines in iraq. in 2005, she was handcuffed to a bed and assaulted by a fellow marine, her supervisor. she reported him. the end result? he was demoted in rank. it's clear that we have so much more to do in addressing this pervasive problem. it doesn't just hurt our men and women in uniform. it undermines the integrity of

our armed forces, the integrity of our country, and that's why we can't let it continue. i know that everyone in the senate, and none more than the women in the senate, want action to change this intolerable situation. and action is what we are going to get. this year's defense authorization act contains more than two dozen unprecedented reforms that will increase reporting of these crimes, provide support to victims, and help rebuild trust in the military's handling of sexual assaults. as a former prosecutor who ran an office of 400 people, i learned over time that the outcomes are incredibly important. but just as important is how people feel about how they are treated in the system. every year we did a survey of our victims of domestic abuse and of sexual assault, and one of the things that became clear over time, that just as important was how many months someone got in prison was whether or not the crime was explained to them, whether or not the process was explained to

the victims, and whether or not the outcome was explained. we actually had people come back and say, i know that this case had to be dropped, or i know you couldn't bring charges in this case, but i felt -- this is a victim talking -- i felt that you treated me with respect and i understood that my case would still remain so that if another case came forward, my record would be there, my report would be there. and if the facts are better or if there was more evidence, you could go forward with it. that has led me to get very involved way before this past year in the issues of record retention in the military on sexual assault reports. when i first got involved in this, we learned the shocking fact that many branches of the military were destroying the records, sometimes in one year, sometimes in five years. and that's why senator olympia snowe and i got together and proposed changes to that system. we actually changed it so the records would be kept for decades.

but the problem is that still in the law, despite two changes we have made over the years on this exact authorization act, the victim actually has to sign something and say they want the records retained. that would not happen in a civil court. current law only requires retention of restricted reports and that's when a service member chooses not to take legal action at the request of the affected service member. this might seem innocuous but it is not. it's a loophole allowing for the continuing destruction of records, making it harder for servicemen and women who've been sexually assaulted to get v.a. benefits for assault-related ailments or to seek justice in future. i did an event with a former marine who literally her case couldn't be brought because she was a marine, the records at the time were kept for five years. so when the perpetrator got out and raped two kids in californ california, that prosecutor in california was at least able to look at the records. whether he could use them or not

is somewhat immaterial. it simply helps to look at the records to know what happened and if there was a similar modus operandei. a service member who's been through a sexual assault should not be forced to make a far-reaching decision on whether his or her report on a crime would be degained or not. that's what's -- detained or not. that's what's happening right now. this will ensure that all reports are stored in a secure and private manner for at least 50 years. it aalsit also contains a provif my bill that substantiated sexual assaults be noted in personnel records. this will help ensure that commanders are aware of potential repeat offenders. and it contains the language from my military assault prevention act and i thank senator -- senator murkowski for her support of this which expresses the sense of the senate that charges of rape, sexual assault or attempts to commit these offenses should be disposed of by court-martial

rather than by nonjudicial punishment or administrative action. we want offenders to be convicted and punished, not just given a slap on the wrist by commanders or allowed to shrink away without a -- slink away without a discharge. this year's n.d.a. also includes legislation that i introduced with senator mccaskill, who's with us here today, to add sexual assault and charges to the list of protected communications that can be ms. mikulski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the investigated by the d.o.d. senator from maryland. inspector general. ms. mikulski: mr. president, this is expanded whistle-blower today we of course are beginning protection that will help ensure the debate on the national that service members are able to defense authorization act. report sexual assault crimes throughout the next hour and without facing retaliation. throughout the rest of the day, you will see the women of the these are just a few of the senate take the floor, one, in provisions addressing sexual assault in this bill. we also know that this bill does support of our military, but so much -- i see senator murray also to express their concern is here -- focused on victims' and their ideas on how to deal rights and treating our victims with the respect that they with sexual violence in the deserve. military. you will see in the next hour our ideas, the fact that we have our country is fortunate that we excellent ideas in the bill, and have so many selfless servicemen and women who volunteer to serve then we will have a robust their country.

debate on how to even further when they raise their hands to serve, we take on a responsibility to provide them enhance this process. this is a compelling national the means to accomplish their mission and to ensure that they don't have to worry about what's going on behind the frontline. problem. when you join the military and you face the enemy, you sexual assault in the military shouldn't have to fear the enemy betrays that responsibility. if in the course of their within. no woman should be a victim of service our servicemen and women rape by a fellow disaster or experience an assault that our military failed to prevent, then we owe them the basic decency of seaman or corpsman. justice. i look forward to working on and no man should face the same passing this bill with my colleagues so that we can protect our service members once sexual attack and call it and for all. thank you, mr. president. hazing. there is no place in the united i yield the floor. states military of violence -- for violence against one member of the military by another. now, i'm pretty fed up. i'm fed up with lip service and empty promises and zero tolerance policies and task force after task force after task force. ms. mikulski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the i'm an old-timer in this senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: you're seeing something pretty historic with institution. i have been here for 25 years. over half of the women of the senate speaking on this issue. i have worked on this issue for i know the press isn't covering

every year since then. it but i hope on c-span they there has been some repugnant are. this is a bipartisan effort with thing that has occurred. 30 reforms that we've agreed to from when i was a brand-new senator, i had to deal with the situation at the naval academy and it is very, very impressive that we're all here speaking up where a female midshipman was with one voice, the occasional chained to a urinal at the naval difference in goals and i hope academy and taunted for three america is watching. because this hasn't ever happened before. fours by fellow midshipmen until i now turn to the gentlelady she was freed by a visiting air from wisconsin for her remarks force cadet, to get her out of and then the gentlelady from missouri and then the gentlelady handcuffs at her own naval from washington state. academy. a senator: mr. president? then there was tailhook. the presiding officer: the then there was other kinds of senator from wisconsin. ms. baldwin: mr. president, i incidents. statistics after statistics. rise this morning to speak about there are 26,000 reasons why we this year's national defense are on the floor today, 26 authorization legislation and the important reforms that are a sexual assaults have occurred in part of the underlying bill to improve our military's response our united states military this to sexual assault within its past year. then we look at the service ranks. the men and women in our armed academy's training of the future services serve with courage in leaders. 15 attacks at the naval academy,

defense of our freedoms every 15 attacks at west point, and single day. in my eyes, their service needs over 50 attacks at the united to be respected by taking states air force academy. decisive action to address the now is the time to do something, ongoing crisis. in fact, you can call it an to do something bold, to do epidemic of sexual assault in something strong and something the military. we know that the system is unequivocal, something that broken and it is long past time victims can have confidence in, the accused can feel that the that we fix it. process will be fair and that we i want to share just one story restore the confidence in the from a remarkable and brave woman named rachel who lives in united states military to stop this and to deal with their own. lacrosse, wisconsin. now, i'm proud of the leadership rachel joined the army in 2004. taken by the women in the senate and the women on the armed she was sexually assaulted that services committee. there are now seven women on the same year while she was stationed at fort meade in armed services committee, five democrats and two republicans, maryland for advanced individual and wow, did they work on a training. after reporting her assault to bipartisan basis with the her commanding officer, rachel leadership of the committee. we appreciate the work of the was interrogated for hours over fine men who supported us in dealing with this. we particularly want to thank numerous days and ultimately

chairman levin for his forced to drop the charge. leadership, and we want to acknowledge the role of senator she was written up for inhofe, and by the way all of the women of the senate wish to express our sincere condolences fraternization and her assailant was not charged with any crime. to senator inhofe on the loss of as you can imagine, rachel was his beloved son dr. peter deeply affected by the trauma of inhofe. so this is not just a women-only this crime and continues to face struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. fight. this is a fight to make sure but rachel is a survivor and a that our military continues to be the best in the world, and when you serve on it, there is true inspiration. she has turned her pain and an enemy outside that we will always face but there is an enemy within that we need to now courage into a platform for end. we, the women of the senate, all advocacy and service to her community. of us, agree on the goals. working through her we want to be able to provide organization, "survivors empowered through art" to raise prosecutorial tours for awareness about military sexual assault, through the power of art and storytelling, rachel's story is a reminder that she is punishment. we want to make sure we get help not alone and that we must do to the victims. the national defense everything that we can to make authorization act has more than 30 reforms in it to accomplish sure that all victims of sexual

that. 13 relate to prosecutorial assault have the support that they deserve. that's why i'm heartened by the reforms. many important reforms included ten are to reform victim in the 2014 national defense services. and two reforms are to improve authorization act and very training of first responders. grateful to the bipartisan five also deal with various coalition, in particular of kinds of reporting. women senators, who have worked so diligently to make this i am so pleased that the bill works to prevent retaliation change happen. against someone who reports a in particular, senators crime. so if you feel that you have gillibrand and mccaskill have been a victim of sexual assault, led the fight to make these you're not retaliateing by -- improvements. their efforts will make a real difference in the lives of retaliating by stepping forward countless americans by when you are doubly victimized, preventing sexual assault in the both by the attack and then by those who want to schedule much military and greatly improving our support to victims. the fact that you want to bring the attack to the surface and to follow some kind of redress and however, i believe that more to also get help. musmust be done to help victimsf it also eliminates the statute sexual assault, and that is why of limitations on court-martials i'm a proud cosponsor of senator for sexual crimes. it requires a review of gillibrand's amendment which would improve on these important decisions by commanders not to reforms by removing the prosecute and requires prosecution of major crimes from

dishonorable discharge for the military chain of command. anyone convicted of a sexual instead, military prosecutors assault. the bill ensures that every victim gets access to legal would determine whether to move counsel and support. a case forward which would this is really important. it's important not only to me and the other women, but it's eliminate inherent bias and important to the person who conflicts of interest which would be injured. currently deter victims from first responders must have reporting sexual assault crimes in the first place. training in sexual assault. there are others that could be i'm also filing an amendment to elaborated on. ensure that we're including rotc sexual assault in the military programs in our conversations continues to rise. it is a problem, as i said. about military sexual assault. and i'm worried about the men just like we must ensure that and women every day to be sure our new officers from service that they are well trained and academies meet our highest well protected. standards, we must do the same you know, mr. president, unfortunately, many of these of those commissioned in rotc acts of violence are unreported, programs across america. unprosecuted and unpunished. i think the important improvements in this year's d.o.d.'s own annual report gives us a picture of why victims defense authorization show the don't report the crimes. great promise of what can be achieved if we work together in 50% don't think anything will be a bipartisan way to get things done. done for the american people. 43% believe they won't be

i have to tell you, it's a believed. and 47% were afraid of tremendous privilege to be a retaliation. the reforms in this bill deals public servant. with those fears and their it's a special privilege to be the first woman elected from my concerns. we are ready to reform, revise state to the u.s. senate. and standardize how the military and one of the best parts for me deals with these problems. is that i get to be a woman in these reforms would change the the senate at a time when way the military think and how there's so many incredible other they act. now, during the course of this women in the senate to work wi whole process, we have met with victims and heard their stories, with, to learn from, to look up with experts and advocates. to. i want to expressly thank my we have met with the military themselves. senate colleagues who serve on now we're ready to give all the armed services committee, concerned in this a voice by using the defense bill for a senators mccaskill and hagan, vehicle for serious and shaheen and gillibrand, hirono, ayotte and fischer. i want to thank them for their work in guiding this process through their committee in such an effective and bipartisan way. my thanks, of course, go as well to senator levin and inhofe for their stewardship of these important provisions. i'd like to thank senators

mikulski and collins for organizing today's floor speeches. the cumulative total of these changes represent true progress in eliminating the tragedy and scourge of sexual assault in our military, and i once again thank my colleagues for their bipartisan work and yield back. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mrs. mccaskill: i, too, want to thank my colleagues, senator mikulski and senator collins, for making an effort today to highlight the work that has been done on this important issue. i would be less than candid if i didn't say it has been frustrating to have one policy difference dominate the discussion of this issue over the previous few weeks without

anyone even realizing the historic reforms that are contained in this bill, and so i welcome the opportunity to come with my colleagues, who may disagree on one policy issue but don't disagree on the goal and are taking a moment to recognize the work that has been put into this bill by not just the women of the armed services committee but also the men of the armed services committee. after hearings and some of us have spent literally hundreds of hours pouring over trial transcripts, spending time visiting with prosecutors, i think we have fashioned historic and amazing changes that are going to forever change the successful prosecution of

rapists in our military and go further to protect victims. i come to this issue with a great deal of experience. i think it is not hyperbole or overstating it that i have stood in the courtroom prosecuting sexual predators more than any member of the united states senate. hundreds and hundreds of cases i have handled, dozens and dozens and dozens of jury trials. no one in this chamber has intercepted with victims of sexual assault more than i have, and i don't think anyone has more of an understanding of the particularly complicated problems that these cases present, especially when there is a consent defense.

and keep in mind that the vast majority of these cases in the military are consent defenses. you have two defenses in a sexual assault case. one is it wasn't me, and the other is it was consensual activity. so it doesn't take someone much to understand the principle that in this instance, most of these cases are going to be consent offenses. why do i emphasize that? i emphasize that because it is relevant, it is particularly relevant to the reforms that we embrace in the underlying bill. the time period in which a victim decides that she is going to come forward out of the shadows and hold her perpetrator accountable is invariably very close in time to the time of report. it is how she is treated at that juncture, more so than anything else. more so than whether she has been victimized in the military

or whether she has been victimized on the streets of your hometown. she is coming forward with the most personally painful moment of her life. now, keep in mind that if you're coming forward with the most personally painful moment of your life, how complicated that gets if you know the defense is going to be that you wanted it, that it was consensual. and then it is even more difficult. that is why the vast majority of these crimes in our country are never reported, ever. it doesn't matter whether we're talking military or civilian. so how can we at that critical moment make sure that victim gets the help and support she or he needs to do the unthinkable, and that is to lay herself or himself bare to the public about what has happened.

well, the way you do that is through the reforms that my colleague, senator murray stressed, and that we have incorporated in this bill, and that is that every single victim gets their own lawyer. i don't think many members understand how extraordinary that is. that reform alone will make our military the most victim-friendly criminal justice system in the world. in no other criminal justice system anywhere, civilian, military, united states, our allies does a victim get that kind of support, and that's what's underlined in these reforms. we already know it works because it's been a pilot program in the air force, and unlike those who say reporting will never go up unless we make another policy change, reporting is spiking in our military.

up 50% just this year. and that is because the victims are getting the word not only do you not only have to report the chain of command, you are going to get the resources, support and help and knowledge you need to navigate the choppiest waters, emotionally and personally, that you will ever encounter. so not only have we done that in the underlying bill, we also have done other things, like stripping commanders of their ability to abuse this system, by changing the outcome of a trial. very important. making the crime of retaliation a reality in the military. it should be actionable in a criminal court within the military if you retaliate against a victim who reports. and now not only will the victim

know that retaliation have a crime, not only will the unit know retaliation is a crime, the victim has her own lawyer who can help press those charges if that occurs. i mean, think of the practical consequences of this reform. you go back to your unit, you're retaliated in it, you call your lawyer. you're not going to believe what they did to me today. that lawyer immediately helps you bring charges against those who might retaliate. it requires automatic discharge from the military for rape or assault convictions. there will be other opportunities to debate the policy difference that we have about how these cases are handled in the military, but i cannot say how grateful i am to the dean and to senator collins for doing this today. it is -- it is very important

that we not lose sight, that this isn't about a bumper sticker, it isn't about one side versus the other. this is about doing the very best job we can on the policy so that we can protect victims, prosecute offenders and get them the hell out of our military. that's what this is about, and with every fiber of my being, i believe we are going to accomplish that with the reforms that we're embracing. i will come back to the floor to talk more about the amendment i'll be offering on the floor to further -- go even further with some of these reforms that we think are necessary, and i am so grateful that my colleagues have taken a moment to recognize the obvious, that what we've done is historic, that what we've done we do in agreement, and what

we've done is going to make a difference. thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: mr. president, how much time do we have under this morning business agreement? the presiding officer: all time in morning business has currently expired. ms. mikulski: we have two more speakers, and senators -- the gentlelady from massachusetts and washington state. i ask unanimous consent morning business be extended for these two for approximately ten minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? seeing no objection, the request is granted. ms. mikulski: i now yield to the gentlelady from washington state and then massachusetts. the presiding officer: the gentlelady from washington. mrs. murray: first i want to thank the senator from maryland and the senator from maine for helping to bring so many of us to the floor today to talk about an issue that really cuts across bipartisan -- cuts across partisan lines and has plagued our nation's military and has gone unaddressed for far too

long. military sexual assault is an epidemic, and it is right -- it has rightly been identified as such by the pentagon. it is absolutely unconscionable that a fellow service member, the person you rely on to have your back and to be there for you would commit such a terrible crime. it is simply appalling that they could commit such a personal violation of their brother or sister in uniform, but what's worse and what has made change an absolute necessity is the prevalence of these crimes. recent estimates tell us that 26,000 service members are sexually assaulted each year, and just over 3,000 of those assaults are reported. according to the department of veterans affairs, about one in five female veterans treated by the v.a. has suffered from military sexual trauma, one in five.

that is certainly not the act of a comrade. it is not in keeping with the ethos of any of the services, and it can no longer be tolerated. and that is why the women of the senate have been united in calling for action. mr. president, there has been made much of the fact that there are now 20 women in the senate, an historic number that i think we all agree can still grow, but it's important to remember that the number alone should not be what is the story. instead, it's what we do with our newfound strength to address the issues that are impacting women across the country. with this bill, the first defense authorization of this congress, we are doing exactly that. we are taking historic action to help service members access the resources they need to seek justice without fear. and, mr. president, one way this bill will do just that, how it will protect our service members and assist victims and punish criminals is through the

inclusion of a bill i introduced across party lines with senator ayotte. our bill, which is included in the base bill, creates a new category of legal advocates called special victims counsels. they would be responsible for advocating on behalf of the interests of the victim. these special victims councils would advise -- counsels would advise the victim on the range of issues they face. for instance, when a private first class is intimidated into not reporting a sexual assault, by threatening her with unrelated legal charges like underaged drinking, this new advocate would be there to protect her and tell her the truth. since january now, the air force has provided these advocates to over 500 victims through an innovative new pilot program. ten months later, the results are speaking for themselves. 92% of victims are extremely satisfied with the advice and support their s.b.c. lent them

through the military judicial process. 98% would recommend other victims request these advocates. and 93% felt that these advocates effectively fought on their behalf. in describing their experience with an advocate, one victim shared that -- quote -- "going through this was the hardest thing i ever had to do in my life. having a special victim counsel helped tremendously. no words could describe how much i appreciate having one of these advocates." so, mr. president, through our bipartisan efforts, the defense authorization bill will also enhance the responsibility and authority of d.o.d.'s sexual assault prevention and response office known as the sapro. this improvement would help to provide better oversight of efforts to combat military sexual assault across the armed forces. sapro would also be required to regularly track and report on a

range of m.s.a. statistics, including assault rates and the number of cases brought to trial and compliance within each of the individual services. now, some of this data collection is already being done, so this requirement is not going to be too burdensome, but it will give the office authority to track and report to us on the extent of the problem. mr. president, i believe the great strength of our military is in the character and dedication of our men and women who wear that uniform. it is the courage of these americans to volunteer to serve that are the pentagon's greatest asset. i know it's said a lot, but take a moment to really think about that. our service members volunteer to face danger, to put their lives on the line, to protect our country and all its people. when we think of those dangers, we think of i.e.d.'s, we think of battles with insurgents.

we shouldn't have to focus on the threats they encounter from their own fellow service members, and we should never allow for a culture in which the fear of reporting a crime allows a problem like this to fester year after year. these are dangers that can never be accepted, and none of our courageous service members should ever have to face them. earlier this year i asked ray maybus about the sexualt assault epidemic and i was glad he told me concern is not a strong enough word to describe how he feels about this problem. he says he is angry about it and i know many of us here are as well particularly our female colleagues who dedicated so much time to this issue share their feeling and want to put an end to this epidemic. so i am hopeful we can work quickly to do right by our nation's heroes because when our best and brightest put on a

uniform and join the united states armed forces they do so with the understanding they will sacrifice much in the name of defending our country and its people. but that sacrifice should never have to come in the form of abuse from their fellow service members. i'm proud that the women in this senate have taken this issue head on, and what should never be lost in the effort to enact the many changes that have been proposed is that for too long this was an issue that was simply swept under the rug. that is no longer the case. thanks to bipartisan cooperation, the work of thousands of dedicated advocates and the voices of countless victims who have bravely spoken out, we are poised to make a difference on an issue that women everywhere have brought out of the shadows. and i am proud of the women that have worked so hard on this issue. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

ms. warren: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: thank you. i rise to express support to wipe out sexualt assault in our military. i want to begin by thanking the senator from maryland and the senator from maine for your skhoerd leadership in bringing -- extraordinary leadership in bringing us to speak out on this issue. the military says it has a zero tolerance policy towards sexual violence. government agencies put out 20 reports examining the problem and suggesting solutions. yet shamefully incidents of sexualt assault involving our military personnel continue at staggering rates. data from the department of defense indicate that thousands of men and women serving in the military are subject to these horrific experiences every year. more than 20% of women serving in the military have reported unwanted sexual contact at some point during the course of their military service. and perhaps most shameful, about

half of all female victims in a 2012 d.o.d. survey indicated they did not report these crimes because they believed that such reports would simply be ignored. this is an outrageous situation. we have called on the military over and over to solve this problem, and they have failed. simply calling once again on the military to reform will be an exercise in futility. worse, it will be a breach of trust with the men and women who are future victims of sexual predators lurking in the military. these are important steps forward that we take today. the number of extremely strong provisions to address sexualt assault included in this year's national defense authorization act will move us in the right direction. these provisions are designed to crack down on sexualt assaults, to better protect and advocate

for victims and to change the climate within our military to one that ends this despicable conduct. the bill includes provisions to promote the prosecution of these cases by eliminating the statute of limitations on certain sexual offense cases and by limiting the ability of commanding officers to modify court-martial findings in sexual offense cases. the bill requires a provision of a special victims counsel to provide legal support for service members who are victims of sexual violence at the hands of other members of the military and take steps. there are other important steps forward in this bill. and as the senate debates the defense bill, we will consider additional provisions to prosecute and eliminate sexualt assault. i support those efforts as well. the issue of sexual violence within our armed forces is very personal to me. all three of my brothers served in the military.

my oldest brother was career military and flew 288 combat missions in vietnam. i know the unbelievable sacrifices that our military men and women make for this country and the sacrifices their families make to support them. and yet, in spite of those sacrifices, we as a nation have consistently refused to take sufficient steps to ensure that our military men and women are protected from sexual violence on the job. tolerance for sexualt assaults demeans the sacrifices that millions of grave men and women have stepped forward to make on our behalf. we owe it to our service members and to their families to change the culture in our military that remains far too tolerant of this abuse. we owe it to our service members and to their families to do everything in our power to stamp out these incidents. no matter the outcome of this

week's amendments votes, this year's defense authorization act will make significant strides toward finally making the military's zero-tolerance policy a reality. i'm proud to support these efforts and i promise that so long as these crimes continue to occur, so long as victims are fearful to come forward, so long as justice is denied to victims, i promise that we will be back right here next year and the year after that and the year after that doing everything we can to end sexualt assault in the military. the brave men and women serving in our armed forces have no intention of giving up on us, and we have no intention of giving up on them. thank you, mr. president. i yield my time. ms. mikulski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: mr. president,

with the outgoing statement by the gentlelady of massachusetts, we are concluding the time that the women of the senate have taken on a bipartisan basis to speak out against sexual assault in the military and to speak for the 30 reforms that we all have agreed upon on a bipartisan basis that will enable prosecutorial reform, help to the victims, guarantee the fairness for the process and make sure that if you come forward, that you will not be retaliated against, you will not be ignored. but if you're also accused, you will get a fair process. i'm really proud of the way the seven women on the armed services committee led this, and then joined by the rest of us -- social workers, advocates, former attorneys general are here. and we couldn't have done it, though, without the very good

men on the committee, particularly the chairmanship of senator levin and the help of senator inhofe. and i note the gentleman from rhode island is here, senator reed. we want to thank him for his strong advocacy for women, the advancement of women in the military and also these important reforms. i also want to say something as the dean of the women. this is pretty historic what we did this morning. you know, you had ten women from the united states senate across the aisle speaking out on 30 goals -- 30 reforms that were agreed to in the underlying bill. this is what the american people wanted, us working together with the chairman of the committee listening to victims, listening to experts, listening to the military. you know what's disappointing to me? there was one person in the press gallery. now if we had been in

conflict -- and there will be a difference later on where there are some differences in some policy. that's okay with me. but we don't make press anymore. we don't make press when we've actually worked together and worked with such incredible diligence and expertise among ourselves 0 to solve these really egregious and historically intransigent problems. i say to the press we know you like conflict, we know you like controversy. you particularly want to see it among the women. we have a precedent where we have disagreed before on goals. when i led the fight with lilly ledbetter, senator kay bailey hutchison took me on with nine amendments. we had a good debate and we had a good bill at the end of it. senator murkowski, the gentlelady from alaska, has also disagreed with me on what should be the best approach on

preventive health. debate, diligence without personal conflict, we then came up with some good ideas. and i say here today when i listen to our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, again with great backgrounds, and here today this is pretty historic. so if you're watching on c-span, you saw history being made. ten of us -- and there will be more later on today -- where we actually agreed. we are trying to govern the way we were elected to govern, and i'm proud of what we're going to do with the reforms that are there. i'm proud of the way we've gone about it. and if we disagree on some matters here or there, that's what debate, rigor and civility will be all about. so, mr. president, i'm going to conclude this debate for now. other women will be coming throughout the day. and we know we will be debating some other important policy

some other important policy

>> and now to london for prime minister's question time live from the british house of commons. every wednesday while parliament is in session, prime minister david cameron takes questions from members of the house of commons. prior to question time the house is wrapping up a business. this is live coverage on c-spa c-span2. >> i'm sitting alongside two of them here. could i urge my honorable friend to make sure that is a new, large prison? it can deal with all the different types of offenders it will have to address to have the best rehabilitative effect and make sure that our proper work facilities for prisoners.

>> minister? >> i thank my honorable friend. last week i saw a great example of a large and diverse prison showing just how effectively different categories of prisoners can be brought together. we have exactly the same aspiration for the new prison in north wales.